Verso stood on top of a heap of grey rubble, his chest still heaving from the fight.
He had heard the system's voice and the notification about an attribute crystal dropping, but as he looked through the debris he couldn't spot the blue shine of the crystal anywhere.
'Where did it go?'
A faint rattling sound made him turn. Lil Bone was walking toward him, its marble feet crunching over the shattered remains of the Giant Golem.
The skeleton held its hand out, a glowing shard sitting in its palm. As it reached Verso, the skeleton started shaking its head violently as if it was trying to brag how it found the crystal before him.
"Perfect!" Verso said, a grin breaking across his face.
Just as reached out to get the crystal the skeleton pulled it's hand back as it narrowed its eyes. Verso looking at this was able to guess what the skeleton was trying to do.
"Th- Thank you?" He said with a confused voice.
Getting what it wanted, Lil Bone pushed his hand forward with the stone with a clattering sound coming from its jaw as if it was snickering.
'This guy...'
Verso slowly reached out and took the crystal. The moment his fingers brushed the surface, a blue window appeared.
[Attribute Crystal: Mana 10]
"Ah, man... not again."
Verso's grin vanished instantly. He let out a loud groan, his shoulders slumping. This was the second mana crystal he had pulled.
'It's really going to take some time before I get an actual ability.'
He sighed and tightened his grip, watching as the blue light spiraled into his skin and the stone turned to dust.
It was not like he did not know how to get an ability. It was just that it was not possible to get it right now. If he wanted an ability crystal, he would have to hunt monsters ranked even higher than Mutants.
He looked at the darker side of the crater further down the path. Although he was not strong enough to get them yet, he was going to be able to soon enough.
"We're going in deeper." He said, looking at Lil Bone.
The skeleton stopped shaking its head and looked at the direction where the golem came from.
"Let's get that beast soul."
---
The Next Day
Verso sat at his desk, his hand propping up his chin as he stared blankly at the screen in front of the class as Professor Ailene taught the students another group combat technique.
The classroom was completely full as the sound of pens scratching filled the air. But while all of this was happening, Verso's mind was somewhere else.
'Why is my luck so bad?'
He had spent the rest of his night shift hunting. He had managed to track down and kill fifteen more Giant Golems, but the system had stayed silent about the one that that he was looking for.
Not a single beast soul had dropped despite the entire thirteen hours he spent hunting yesterday.
'Did I use up all my luck on the first day?'
Verso sighed silently as he slowly looked away from the front of the room.
With a flick of his mind, he pulled up his status window.
---
[✦Summoner Window✦]
Name: Verso
Title: -
Talent: [Endless]
Core: Uncondensed (0%)
Stats:
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 9]
[Endurance: 10]
[Mana: 10]
Summons: [Nameless Skeleton], [Minor Stone Golem (5)]
---
'At least my stats are almost maxed.'
The night hadn't been a complete waste.
He had gained multiple attribute crystals, pushing his strength, endurance, and mana to the absolute cap for a Primitive rank. His agility was only one point away from joining them.
But his eyes lingered on the line below his name.
Core: Uncondensed (0%)
'I need to start working on this.'
In the world of summoners, strength wasn't just about the monsters you held.
Everyone, whether they summoned a Primitive skeleton or a Mutant wolf, started with an uncondensed core. To move to the next stage, a summoner had to use a mana cultivation technique to compress their energy.
This was exactly why the quality between creatures of different ranks like the Primitive Minor Golems and the Mutant Golem was so big. This gap also got bigger the higher ranked a creature or a person becomes.
'Man, but meditating is so boring.'
The school had provided every student with a basic cultivation technique, but Verso had ignored it.
The thought of sitting in his room for hours, doing nothing but breathing and focusing on his stomach sounded like torture.
But now that he was reaching the peak, if he didn't condense his core, any further attribute crystals would just be wasted energy.
RIIIIIIING!
The loud bell echoed through the halls, signaling the end of the lecture. Verso began to gather his things getting ready to head to the library, he heard the Professor's voice cut through the noise of shuffling papers.
"Class! Before you go, I want to inform you of a change to the curriculum."
Professor Ailene stood at the podium, her sharp eyes scanning the room.
"For your final grade in my Combat Theory class, we will be conducting duels."
Verso's hand froze on his notebook.
'Duels?'
This was exactly what he was thinking about yesterday.
"You can pair yourselves up and come to me whenever you want the match to take place."
Ailene continued to speak as she picked up her bag and headed towards the door.
"Just ensure it's done before the end of the week."
The classroom erupted into a frantic buzz of conversation as students immediately started eyeing each other trying to search for an easy target.
Verso just stood there as a slow, sinister smile began to spread across his face. He looked toward the front of the room, where Xavier was surrounded by his usual group of lackeys.
'So this is where my luck went.'
He didn't need to look for a partner. He already knew exactly who he was going to challenge.